2023 Commercialization Fellows
Meet the 2023 Commercialization Fellows. Read the Around Cornell announcement for additional information on the cohort.
Mehrnaz Sabet
Information Science, Ph.D. Candidate
Advanced simulation system for autonomous robots
Sabet’s technology is an advanced simulation system providing cost-effective end-to-end testbeds to engineering teams to enhance and validate the autonomy stack in autonomous robots for rapid and reliable deployment. Using a novel approach in data collection over large-scale multi-fidelity virtual spaces through a performant rendering mechanism, the simulator provides a space for challenging all components in the autonomy stack in realistic scenarios. This technology can accelerate validation time by a factor of 100 and potentially drastically reduce overall test and evaluation time and cost to enable deployment at scale.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about the market demand and evaluating whether my technology can address a large enough problem,” Sabet said. “By going through a customer discovery process that is significantly different from the lab environment, I will be able to identify the best product-market fit and re-evaluate the value that my technology can bring to the market.”
Mokshin Suri
Materials Science and Engineering, Ph.D. Candidate
Technology to counter the impact of methane emissions
Suri has developed an electrochemical method to convert waste methane gas into valuable fuels like methanol, enabling customers to avoid methane emissions fines, reduce their carbon emissions, and develop new revenue streams.
“I hope to use lessons from the Commercialization Fellowship to learn how to successfully translate lab-scale technology into a commercial market, and I am excited to learn from entrepreneurs and business-leaders across the Cornell community,” Suri said. “I am especially excited about the customer discovery aspect of the program, as I hope to define a beachhead market segment for our technology. I hope this customer discovery may also lead important relationships with potential partners, opportunities for pilot programs, joint development, and further commercialization.
Ruben Trujillo
Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D. Candidate
Polymeric micron-sized hydrogels for osteoarthritis treatment
Trujillo’s technology consists of polymer micron-sized hydrogels for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. Current treatment methods for osteoarthritis only mask the symptoms of the disease for a short period of time, with the final option consisting of a total joint replacement. This microgel technology provides a non-surgical treatment for OA that results in proper joint lubrication to ameliorate pain and simultaneous delivery of a wide variety of therapeutics. Additionally, this technology has a relatively low viscosity compared to traditional viscosupplements, making joint injections easier to perform for clinicians and veterinarians.
“Through the Commercialization Fellowship, I hope to gain the skillset necessary for taking biomedical technologies from the lab bench to the clinics to better improve human health,” Trujillo said. “I have always appreciated the integration of science and business to provide healthcare solutions to the public, and I am looking to expand my toolbox of knowledge to learn more about marketing, fundraising, and strategy.”